Howard R. Driggs Memorial Lecture

Dr. Kurt Graham joined the Adams Presidential Center as its inaugural president on October 15, 2024.

Previous to joining the APC, Graham was the Director of the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri. As director, he oversaw a $30M renovation of the principal museum exhibits and dramatically expanded the Library’s educational and public programming. He has also directed the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming, and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

Prior to his work in the public history field, Graham was a member of the history faculty at California State University, San Bernardino, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in American political and legal/constitutional history. He has a Ph.D. in American history from Brown University and a B.A. and an M.A. from Brigham Young University in English and American studies, respectively. He is the author of To Bring Law Home: The Federal Judiciary in Early National Rhode Island (Northern Illinois University Press, 2010).

Synopsis:

The Howard R. Driggs Memorial Lecture on March 25, 2025 featured Director of the Adams Presidential Center, Dr. Kurt Graham. His presentation was titled, “Presidential Legacies in Four Centuries”.

Dr. Graham began his presentation by saying, “Americans love their presidents… even when we don’t agree with or appreciate or even respect the person in the office, Americans hold the office itself in an almost kind of civic reverence.” His presentation followed the legacies of John Adams (18th century), John Quincy Adams (19th century), Harry Truman (20th century), and George W. Bush (21st century). He discussed some common themes amongst these four presidents, noting that none of them have monuments, asking the audience: “Why do we remember some of our leaders on paper only, in books, and we remember others in stone?” 

The second link he noted between these four presidents was foreign policy. He stated that, “Every one of these four presidents came into office not necessarily intending to be a foreign policy, or in some cases wartime, president.” He spoke further of how each president had dealt with foreign policy and being an international leader, saying, “sometimes history sort of thrusts upon a president things that he has to do that he wouldn’t otherwise like to do or think about”. 

Another link was the way each of them came to the presidency, and how they each faced challenges that brought them to the office. He shared the stories of each election, all of which had some obstacles to overcome before the men were elected. 

The next thread between each president was character. Dr. Graham spoke very candidly of each president, sharing their achievements, beliefs, failures, and experiences. He added that one of the most important precedents was given by John Adams—a peaceful transition of power, which is an integral part of the American presidency. 

The final thread he spoke about was the notion of patriotism. He began, defining it, “patriotism is positive, it leans neither right nor left, it’s not progressive, it’s not reactionary, it’s not woke, it’s not MAGA, it’s not Democrat, it’s not Republican, it’s a love of country.” In terms of the presidents, that notion of patriotism was the willingness to step up and serve, Dr. Graham stated. 

He wrapped up his presentation by quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Make your own Bible. Take those statements, take those words, take those quotes that have come to you like the blast of trumpet out of Seneca, Cicero, John, Paul, Moses, and Shakespeare. Take those words that resonate in your heart, put those together, make your own Bible.” He borrowed the concept, asking the audience to take those words, those beliefs, and make their own Mount Rushmore.

He finished by saying, “We have seen great leadership before, and we will see it again. We will see it when we demand the humanity and courage of those who would be our leaders to do what we’ve seen other leaders do. We will be well led again when we require our representatives to reach beyond their base voters and base instincts, to connect with what Lincoln called, ‘the better angels of our nature”.